Chapter 11
Haatim clicked through the various websites somewhat absently, sleepiness creeping in. He had trawled through the information for days and had a mind-numbing headache from spending so much time in front of a computer. Yet, still, had only managed to track down a few of the possible targets Nida might go after.
Four days had passed since he’d started coming to the library with Father Paladina, and the more time he spent working on this problem, the more insurmountable it became.
The trouble was, for most of the possible ancestors, too many possible descendants existed to narrow down anything. A quick search through ancestry related websites showed innumerable possibilities of people Nida could track down to acquire the blood she needed.
And that came from looking to defend only one bloodline from her attack. Worse, that bloodline they believed to have become extinct hundreds of years ago, which meant the records proved nearly impossible to parse through. No way could they possibly keep all of them out of Nida’s grip.
In addition, most of them probably weren’t related, and their blood wouldn’t suffice for the ritual she wanted to accomplish. Most of them dead-ended, but verifying that became almost impossible. And protecting them all didn’t make an option, either. They couldn’t put guards on all the potential descendants of the Otolan bloodline, and no way could Haatim predict with any accuracy how his demon-sister would pick her targets.
No, he needed to narrow down the list to the most likely candidates, but that meant a lot of searching, cross-referencing, and guessing. Haatim hated that it proved so difficult to attain accuracy, and his mind felt numb from the work.
But, he couldn’t afford to stop. Father Paladina had gone out as well, chasing down leads and trying to find out if anyone knew more about the extinct-but-not-extinct bloodline. So far, that had turned into a dead end, too.
He hadn’t heard from Frieda in a couple of days but knew she could be en route to help Dominick protect Jill Reinfer in Pennsylvania. The last report he’d received had said that Jun would be all right, but it would take a long while before he got well enough to leave the hospital.
From the sounds of it, the woman that Dominick had gone to protect seemed a likely target for one of these last two bloodlines, so Frieda wanted Haatim to focus solely on the Otolan line.
To that end, he stayed there scrolling through articles and websites, looking for any clue that might help narrow down his list of two-hundred possible targets. He felt fairly certain that he could cross half of them off the list, but he didn’t want to make any broad-stroke decisions that could bite him in the butt later.
The whole thing seemed like a waste of time but better than the alternative of worrying about what would happen now with the Council destroyed. The more occupied he became with menial tasks, then the better.
The idea that Nida had five of the seven bloodlines already and had come close to releasing Surgat proved terrifying. When Haatim got initiated into this world, he had viewed the Council as an ancient organization, powerful and all-knowing. What a silly idea—the more he thought about it—but he had believed them untouchable.
First hand, he had watched while Nida and her team murdered and destroyed them, and now almost nothing remained. He wished he could have done something to help; to keep the attack from happening or being so successful.
Of course, maybe, he could have. If Father Paladina were to be believed.
***
As well as searching for names from the Otolan bloodline, Haatim also looked for information about what Father Paladina had told him about himself and people like him.
Each morning when he got up and finished eating and getting dressed, a car picked him up out front. Father Paladina met him at the empty building in the Vatican slums with the demon in the basement. There, he would confront the demon, face it, and face his fears.
For the first couple of days, nothing happened, and it felt like a waste of time. They would spend hours in that dank basement, face-to-face with a dead man rotting in front of their very eyes. It seemed hopeless, and it annoyed him that Father Paladina insisted they spend so much time there. Time that he could better spend trying to solve their other problems.
But, then, he felt something. It happened all at once on the third day. A sort of heat in his chest, which imbued him with a sense of purpose and rightness. It gave him a clear knowledge that the demon would not be allowed to hurt him if he didn’t allow it himself.
It seemed like tapping into something, an essence inside him but normally unreachable. And touching it that first time felt like a light-bulb moment, and once he knew where to look, he could do it over and over again. It seemed like a switch had gotten thrown.
Still, though, he couldn’t control the power. It came in waves; there one moment and gone the next, but he could feel it. The idea that he could recreate the power that had happened at Raven’s Peak struck him as awe-inspiring.
Father Paladina made an excellent teacher, spending hours with him in the room facing the demon, and letting him learn in a controlled environment made it much easier to deal with.
So far, he couldn’t actually do anything, but Father Paladina said that it would just take time. He could cross over, as the priest described it, and that made for the hardest part. With practice, everything else would just come.
Of course, they didn’t have a lot of time to spare. The old priest had also given him numerous ancient texts to look into, which explained the abilities—old documents that described the power and great things people had done with it.
Detailed accounts of different periods in history when seemingly ordinary people had performed “miracles” filled the documents. Things like walking out of crashes or accidents unscathed to surviving terrible injuries. They even held accounts of healing people with only a single touch.
In the stories—or historical accounts; Haatim couldn’t decide if he believed them or not—such people could use the power to go so far as dragging demons directly out of hosts and dismissing them back to hell.
A few years ago, he would have dismissed all of this as simply fantastical information spread by the Church; rumors they created to encourage the lay people to believe more firmly in divinity. But now, he knew that anything was possible. The world had become a lot bigger and more complex than he’d ever imagined. He’d witnessed demons, rituals, and any number of terrible occurrences in these last few months, including the possession of his sister.
A few passages of the tomes stuck out to him in particular, along the lines of what Father Paladina had described to him as a form of channeling—something that exorcists practiced and used on behalf of the Catholic Church while dealing with a demonic presence, whereby they could willingly become an instrument of God’s will.
Or, at least that was how the accounts described such. If Father Paladina could be believed, less than one percent of all operating exorcists in the world could even manifest such abilities at all, and those made for a minuscule population of self-selected priests out of the larger population of the world. The overall impact of such an “ability” would prove negligible within the greater society, and even those that did have it could rarely do anything influential with it.
To Haatim, it sounded like even if this were possible, it probably had little to do with the Catholic Church or the Abrahamic God at all. Maybe it did come from God as a form of divinity, but not in the sense of any particular religion. Much like the demons: they became easy to describe through the lens of Christianity but existed beyond it.
In fact, when he searched around on the internet, he discovered similar accounts from all over the world and by people from every background imaginable. People from many different countries and religions described similar amazing feats that could be prescribed to what he sat learning about channeling.
Same powers, different lens.
If he believed one version of the abilities, he decided, then he might as well believe in them all.
A few hours later, while he still sat browsing down the rabbit hole of channeling, Father Paladina returned to the library. He looked weary when he sat down in the chair next to Haatim.
Haatim leaned back in his seat and rubbed his face. “That bad, huh?”
“I spoke to my colleagues,” Father Paladina said. “But no one knows anything about the Otolan bloodline, and I’ve been unable to verify any of the names on our list.”
“I have had no more luck than you, I’m afraid.”
“We could defend a few of them, but I’ll not send anyone out while our list remains this long. It would prove a complete waste of resources.”
“I know,” Haatim said. “Any word from Frieda?”
“She’s meeting with Dominick to defend the Reinfer residence. Currently, she’s in flight over the ocean.”
“No attack yet?”
“No. But if something is to happen, she believes it will be soon. Dominick reported the all quiet, but Frieda feels that doesn’t indicate safety. Something will happen.”
“Unless Nida has blood from the Reinfer bloodline already, and this is just a misdirection.”
“True.”
“I should be there helping.”
“You’re helping here.”
Haatim sighed. “Barely. We haven’t found anything useful, and I still can’t channel consistently.”
“It takes time.”
“We don’t have time.”
Father Paladina frowned but didn’t respond. They sat in silence for a moment, staring at the laptop in front of Haatim.
“Have you looked over the book I gave you?”
Haatim hesitated. “I’m still not convinced.”
“That it’s real?”
“That I can do it,” Haatim said. “You told me I had more of a gift than most, but when I reach out, I barely feel anything.”
“You’ve felt it, though. It’s like an unused muscle. The more you use it, the more you can call upon it to aid you.”
“So, it’s like energy. I’m tapping into my energy to do it.”
“In a sense.”
“What happens when I run out?”
Father Paladina stayed quiet for a moment. “Bad things.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s more akin to tapping into your soul. When you deplete it …”
Haatim paused, then said, “Point taken.”
“In any case, now that you can do it, you will grow stronger in a short time. Already, you’ve felt the essence, and now it is simply about directing it.”
“I felt something, but the accounts in this book describe some crazy things happening.”
“Not all of them are real. Some of them, the Church fabricated, and it’s difficult to tell them apart. I didn’t expect you to believe all the accounts. I only believe a handful. However, I have seen powers before, similar to what you described, and I can sense them in you. You remind me of someone I knew long ago, and he had the abilities.”
“Who?”
“A man named Father Reynolds.”
“What happened to him?”
“He passed away.”
“How?”
“It isn’t important.” Father Paladina pursed his lips. “He was a dear friend.”
Clearly, he didn’t want to discuss this topic, so Haatim changed the subject, “These seven families we’ve been tracking down … why are they so important? What’s the demon trying to do?”
“Frieda hasn’t told me.”
“But you have some idea,” Haatim said. The more time he spent with the man, the more he realized that Father Paladina put on an unassuming air while knowing everything going on. “I know you do.”
The priest frowned. “They were the original seven from the Council of Chaldea. The founding group. Most of them went their separate ways over the years, but the ritual linked their blood.”
“What ritual?”
“The binding ritual the demon wants to undo.”
“Everyone keeps saying that, but you won’t tell me what they bound. Frieda said it is a demon named Surgat.”
Father Paladina nodded. “Except, not only Surgat. The demon was bound into a human, a vessel he attached himself with, and the vessel got trapped as well.”
“So, they sent a human to hell?”
“More or less. I know little else. Surgat has been accounted for throughout history, but from what I’ve gathered, no one has learned the demon’s true name. From all accounts, what the Council stopped was a true integration, the type only experienced a few times in history.”
“So, something bad.”
The priest chuckled. “Yes, something bad.”
They sat in silence. After a moment, Haatim reached forward and closed his laptop. He turned to face Father Paladina. “Why did Frieda send me here?”
“So you could find the next target of the demon.”
“No, the real reason.”
“What do you mean?”
“She sidelined me. I should be out there, helping Dominick keep Ms. Reinfer safe, but instead, she’s got me here with you. Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do. You don’t have to tell me, but at least stop lying to me. You’ve watched out for me since I arrived and made sure I don’t try to leave.”
The old priest studied Haatim for a while before standing, “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
Father Paladina didn’t reply. Instead, he turned and headed toward the exit of the library. Haatim slid his laptop away into his bag and then followed, rushing after the old priest. He followed him out into the afternoon sun, blinking as his eyes adjusted from the dim library.
They went across the street to where the car sat parked and climbed in. The driver looked at them in the rearview mirror.
“Take a break, Mason,” Father Paladina said.
The driver nodded, opened the door, and slipped out of the car. Haatim, through the front windshield, watched him walk down the street and disappear around a corner.
“What are we doing?”
“Some things are best discussed in private.”
“What things?”
Father Paladina glanced over him, “Frieda did ask me to keep you here. She asked me to keep you safe.”
“From who?”
“The Church.”
***
“What?”
“Frieda doesn’t want me to tell you this, but you have a right to know. Assassins are, after all, surviving members of the Order and Council, including Frieda and Dominick. You are not a member of either organization, and thus not a likely target, but Frieda felt afraid that you might get targeted by association if you stayed out there with them.”
“Wait. Back up. What do you mean that they’re after Frieda and Dominick? Church assassins?”
“Yes.”
Haatim gasped. “Why?”
“I don’t know the full details. After the Council got attacked, an order went out. I stalled it for a few days to give Frieda time. That’s what I’ve been doing these last few days. Now, I’ve reached the end of what I can help with. She’s on her own.”
Haatim shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would the Church want to kill the Council? We were the ones that got attacked.”
“They, not you,” Father Paladina said. “I wish I knew. Frieda knows, I believe, but she refused to elaborate when I asked her.”
“So, she sent me here?”
“And I’m not supposed to let you leave until this finishes,” Father Paladina said.
“So, basically, you can’t tell me anything else?”
“No. I’m sorry. That’s the extent of what I know.”
Haatim let out a sigh. “Then, what can you tell me?”
“What can you tell me?” Father Paladina asked. “I know little about what happened out in Switzerland.”
“I wasn’t there, but when the demon controlling my sister came through, she spared no one. They killed everyone except for Jun Lee.”
“Did you confront the demon?”
“No,” Haatim said. “Will I be able to?”
“Maybe, eventually, but not yet.”
Haatim sat in thought. “But, you mean I will be able to banish the demon. I could send it back to hell, and then my sister …”
He didn’t finish the thought, seeing the frown on the old priest’s face. “No, Haatim. I’m sorry. Your sister is gone.”
Haatim felt a surge of hope at the prospect, and he didn’t quite believe the priest. The thing was, from everything he’d read in the accounts, if he banished the demon, the host would manage to recover and go back to normal. It had even been reported to happen with people thought to be dead.
Maybe, he could rescue Nida.
“Haatim, if the demon completes the unbinding and lets loose Surgat, things will go very badly very fast.”
“Why isn’t the Church trying to stop all of this? Shouldn’t they help Frieda stop this instead of hunting her and Dominick?”
“We are trying to stop it, but through different avenues.”
“What do you mean?”
Father Paladina rubbed his eyes. “The odds of Frieda and Dominick succeeding at keeping Jill Reinfer safe from the demon look slim at best. We have agents trying to locate the demon instead and stop it from doing this. Some of our best operatives are dealing with this threat directly.”
“By hunting down the demon?”
Father Paladina nodded. “I apologize if that offends. I know it has possession of your sister.”
Haatim lied, “It doesn’t offend me. I came to terms with that a while ago. Now, I just want to put her to rest again. Do you know her location?”
Father Paladina hesitated and didn’t reply. From the look on his face, Haatim could tell that he hid something.
“What? You know?”
“Maybe.”
“But you don’t want to tell me?”
“Frieda asked me not to. In any case, we’re not certain that the demon is there.”
“I’m getting sick of Frieda deciding what I should and shouldn’t know. Tell me, please.”
Father Paladina nodded. “I understand. We aren’t sure, exactly, where Nida is, but the feeling of the Church is that it will be where we find the person hunting her, and our last report places that person on a flight into Cambodia at the Capital, Phnom Penh.”
“Cambodia?” he asked, shaking his head. “Why? What’s in Cambodia?”
Father Paladina shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Haatim froze. “Wait, you said the person hunting her is the one you’re after. Who’s that?”
“That’s what Frieda asked me not to tell you. She doesn’t want you to know our other target.”
“What do you mean? Who is it? Who is your target?”
“Abigail Dressler.”
***
At that moment, a gentle breeze could have knocked over Haatim. His jaw dropped open, and he almost fell out of his seat.
“Abigail?”
“Yes.”
“She’s alive?”
“Yes. Frieda didn’t want you to know for the same reason she wants to keep you here.”
“Because you’re hunting her.”
Paladina nodded. “Yes. We have operatives on their way there to deal with her now.”
“What?” Haatim pushed back his chair. “Why would you kill her?”
Father Paladina shook his head and looked at the floor. “I’m sorry. You knew her?”
“She was—is—my friend, and she’s saved my life countless times. I … I thought she’d died.”
“So did the Church. Until recently. After the attack on the Council, we took Frieda at her word that Abigail had perished in the train wreck, but recently, we stumbled upon evidence to the contrary. Abigail remains alive, and what’s more, we believe that she’s hunting Nida.”
“Did Frieda know?”
“I don’t believe so. I told her a few moments ago, and she seemed genuinely surprised by the information. She forbade me to tell you.”
“Yet, you told me.”
“You have a right to know,” he said.
Haatim took a moment to digest the information. Abigail alive? He’d felt certain that she’d died in the crash. How could she have survived?
And, if she did survive, why didn’t she come back to them and let them know she was okay? Why didn’t she call or contact them in some way?
Was she safe? Was something wrong?
The questions flooded through Haatim’s mind, but he already knew the answer: she didn’t want them to know she lived.
She didn’t want him to know she lived.
“Why did you tell me?” Haatim asked. “You have to have some other motive to break your promise to Frieda.”
“First off, I never promised,” the priest said. “But, you are correct, I do have an ulterior motive.”
“Which is?”
“I’m not one of the people who agree with the Church’s decision to exterminate the Council. We have operatives in place to deal with Abigail, but I believe there exists a better way of handling all of this.”
“What way?”
“You could bring her back here.”
“What? If I bring her here, they’ll kill her.”
“I believe that if she turns herself in, I can keep the Church from executing her. At least, not without a formal trial. But, if they catch her outside the Vatican, they won’t hesitate.”
“Her last trial didn’t end well.”
The priest ignored him. “Will she trust you?”
Haatim hesitated. “I don’t know.”
“Well, let’s hope she does because you offer the only chance she has of staying alive.”
